History

Wizard was created in 1983-84 by Ken Fisher of Toronto, Canada. Ken is the creator of the popular series of books and games titled "Isaac Asimov Presents SuperQuiz, by Ken Fisher". The quiz is now in its tenth year in daily newspapers syndication across North America. To view a sample link to King Features.  SuperQuiz

The first production run of Wizard took place in June, 1986. The game rules have stood the test of time, but the graphics have undergone several changes. The original game box and one of the jester and wizard cards are shown below:

In 1991 fueled by an enthusiastic public response to the fascinating game-play afforded by Wizard, a complete graphical redesign was undertaken which brought the card-fronts essentially to their present design. However, the back of the cards were as shown below.

In 1993 Wizard awarded its first license to Canada Games,( the license was restricted to Canada). Design changes were required to meet the legal requirement for both French and English languages. The card back and a wizard and jester are shown.

In 1994 Wizard granted world rights, excluding Canada, to U.S. Games Systems of Stamford, Connecticut. The overall quality of the cards was vastly improved and the current card back was instituted with other minor but important modifications.

In 1996 a license was granted to Amigo-Spiele for manufacture and distribution in Germany. The company which deals exclusively in playing cards instituted graphical changes of immense proportions: new card suits, a new card back, a new box and a different medieval character depicted on each card. The box-front, back of the card and five other cards are shown.

In late 1996 a license for Japan was granted to SYU Creations Co. Samples of the Japanese version are not available at present, but we will post them ASAP.

In 1997 Canada Games went out of business and shortly thereafter Wizard granted a license to Playtoy Industries which in turn went into receivership in December 1998. Early in 1999 Canada was added to the US Games license. 

In1998 U.S.Playing Cards was sub-licensed by U.S.Games Systems to manufacture and market a "Bicycle Wizard Card Game". The license is restricted to the mass market so U.S.Games will continue to serve the independent retailers and market the Deluxe Wizard game. U.S. Playing Cards will not change the game itself but its market presence will make Wizard widely available across America for the first time. The Bicycle version was introduced in the USA in the Fall of 1998.